Every-thing: you need, to KNOW; about ---- Punctuation?

Try this Quiz. Which is the correctly punctuated example?

1.
a) The stigma attached to family crime makes it shameful to reach out for help. There is often
a sense of guilt and shame.
b) The stigma attached to family crime makes it shameful to reach out for help, there is often
a sense of guilt and shame.

2.
a) The Prime Minister said, that the situation was improving.
b) The Prime Minister said that the situation was improving.
c) The Prime Minister said that, the situation was improving.

3.
a) Mobile computing technology refers to a system, which allows transmission of data without
a connection to a fixed link.
b) Mobile computing technology refers to a system which allows transmission of data without
a connection to a fixed link.

4.
a) She asked me if I wanted any help?
b) She asked me if I wanted any help.

5.
a) The UN has its headquarters in Geneva.
b) The UN has its headquarters in Geneva.

6.
a) Many childrens toys are gender-specific.
b) Many childrens toys are gender-specific.
c) Many childrens toys are gender-specific.

7.
a) When the cats away the mice will play.
b) When the cats away the mice will play
c) When the cats away the mice will play

8.
a) Women have their faults, men have only two: everything they say, and everything they do.
b) Women have their faults men have only two, everything they say and everything they do.

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Answers: 1a); 2 b); 3 b); 4 b); 5 b); 6 a); 7 c); 8 a).
A review of punctuation

1. Commas and full stops.

A common error in writing is caused by using commas where a full stop should go. This is leads to
ungrammatical run-on sentences. We can clearly see this in the following examples (X means
incorrect):

X The policy on the single European currency is not well defined, it confuses many people.

X An advantage of using coursework as a form of assessment is that it allows a person to work

independently, this is useful if a student is able to manage their time effectively.

X Terrorism legislation will be discussed alongside the Human Rights Act, this is because they contradict
each other, this is a crucial matter.

X There are numerous theories about why crime occurs, the oldest theory is that criminals are perverse
persons who deliberately commit crimes or who do so at the instigation of the devil or other evil spirits

To avoid this problem, we need either to use full stops and start a new sentence, or use link
words, such as and, or which. In some cases we might use a semi-colon (see 5 below).

2. Commas can sometimes affect meaning. Consider the following pairs of sentences below.

a. My brother who lives in Scotland is getting married.

b. My brother, who lives in Scotland, is getting married.

c. Blair, said Brown, was a fool.

d. Blair said Brown was a fool.

e. What is this thing called love?

f. What is this thing called, love?

g. She has accepted the job which will allow her to live in London.
h. She has accepted the job, which will allow her to live in London.

Commas have five main functions:

a. To separate an adverbial clause or phrase that is not essential to the meaning of the
sentence, e.g.,
Recently, the number of service enterprises in wealthier free-market economies has grown rapidly.
Some businesses only seek to earn enough to cover their operating costs, however.

b. Before various connectives to join two independent clauses, e.g., and, but, or, so nor, for,
yet.
c. Between main clauses in long, compound sentences, e.g.,
The 2001 census puts the population of London at just over seven million, 5.6 million of which are over
16 and living with, or married to, a partner.

d. To separate words, phrases and clauses in a series, e.g.,

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries manufactures a large variety of industrial products and machinery, including
ships, steel products, power plants, transportation systems, printing presses, aircraft, guided missiles,
torpedoes, and air-conditioning and refrigeration systems.
d. To separate adjectives that separately modify the same noun, e.g.,
There was a long, dark, winding road leading up to the house.
3. Common mistakes. A comma cannot separate subject from predicate (verb). The following
sentences are not grammatical and the commas should be taken out:

X A man of his great abilities, would always be successful.

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X The number of service enterprises in wealthier free-market economies, has grown rapidly.
X Experience indicates that, these problems do not result wholly from our life-style.

The following sentences contain misplaced commas or have commas missing. How would you
correct them?

X The second exercise which was more difficult took half an hour.
X Tell me immediately, if you need me for anything.
X The driver managed to escape from the vehicle before it sank and swam to the river bank.
X People, who live in glass houses, shouldnt throw stones.
X It also looks at the territorial obstacles, which concern Jerusalem and the settlements.

4. Colons /:/ The punctuation in the following sentences is correct. What rules can you deduce
from these examples?

a) The problem was this: how to add taped dialogue to film sequences and synchronise them in
projection.

b) A first-aid kit should contain the following items: cotton wool, sticking plasters, antiseptic
cream, bandages, and a pair of scissors.

c) The government can do one of three things: raise taxes; increase borrowing; or just do
nothing and let events take their course.

d) The chief commodities are: butter, cheese, milk, eggs; lamb, beef, veal, pork; oats, barley, rye
and wheat.

5. Semi-colons /;/
The semi-colon is halfway between a comma and a full stop. It forms a clear break between two
parts of a sentence. The two parts are usually grammatically complete but have a close
relationship in meaning. Often, the second part in some way completes the first. e.g.,

The philosophers so far have only interpreted the world; the point is to change it. (Karl Marx, 1818-
1883).

Where would semi-colons go in these examples?

X The past is a foreign country they do things differently there.

X Some people work better in the morning others work better in the evening.
X Its a good idea in theory lets hope it works in practice.
X People say that travel broadens the mind it can also be a frustrating and dangerous experience.
X The sciences search for change the humanities reflect on what it is.

6. Question marks /?/ are used to mark questions in direct speech. It is better to avoid direct
questions in academic writing, however. Instead of, e.g. ,

So why is population ageing a big problem?

There are a number of reasons for concern about the ageing population.

Try to turn questions into statements. Beware of using question marks with indirect questions,
where they are redundant, e.g.,

X She asked me if I wanted any help? X

7. Use of capital letters: what does this list tell you about the rules for use of capital letters?

Tuesday, Sunday September, January

Baroness Thatcher, Boy George German, English
Freetown, Ruislip The Thames, The Amazon
The Himalayas, The Alps The Renaissance, The Cold War
Easter, Diwali, Ramadan The Merry Wives of Windsor
The Protection of Children Act, 1955. The Trades Union Congress
Dear Sir/ Madam,

Beware of over-using capital letters, e.g.,

X The British Film Industry is in decline X

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Correction: The British film industry is in decline.

8. Dashes /-/

e.g., Punctuation can be a great help to clarity - or no help at all!

Dashes, like exclamation marks /!/, are usually quite informal and so it is generally better to
avoid using them in academic writing.

9. Hyphens /-/ are used for joining some compound words, e.g. short-sighted, a half-baked idea.
They can also avoid letter collision, e.g. shell-like, de-icer, co-operation. Often they have passed
from use, e.g. we no longer hyphenate wordprocessing. If you leave them out, there may be
ambiguity however: e.g.,

Man eating tiger escapes from safari park.

It is still necessary to use hyphens when spelling out numbers, such as thirty-two, forty-nine; and
adjective phrases such as a nine-year-old. Also, certain prefixes require hyphens: anti-American,
pro-hunting, ex-boyfriend.

10. Brackets ( ) also called parentheses, are used to add extra comments, e.g.,
Leonardo da Vinci (1452 1519) was an advocate of vegetarianism.
This is one step removed from the dash. Too many brackets mean it may be better to shorten
sentences.

Brackets must be used in referencing in a text for the author and date after a quotation,
e.g. (Jones, 2001:6-12).

11. Apostrophes

Sample sentences
Tony Blairs position is increasingly vulnerable.
AIDS is the worlds biggest threat; the bodys immune system is destroyed.
Todays rise in share prices has astonished everyone.
The door of the car was dented.

We typically use this form, with s (or s if the noun is plural) to indicate possession. It is used
for:

a. people b. animals
President Bushs election The lions share
Bill Gates millions a dogs dinner

c. locations d. names of organisations

The countrys development The EUs policies
Europes population The governments decision

d. time expressions
yesterdays newspaper
two years experience

If a persons name ends with s (eg Bill Gates) we simply add after it. Optionally we can add another s,
(e.g., St. Jamess Infirmary).

We use the genitive with of for things (inanimate objects)

eg., the lid of the machine, (not: the machines lid).
the development of science (not: sciences development).

Which of the following can be used with s ?

a) The work of Oxfam

b) The prices of all new products
c) The development of a new distribution network
d) The immune system of the body
e) The outcome of the election

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Correct the following where necessary.

f) In a few years time we may find...

g) Each application has its own advantages and disadvantages.
h) We missed last weeks programme.
i) A persons right to security is guaranteed.
j) The applications security is broken...
k) Security is very important, especially for large corporations.
l) Electronic tagging has created a means of monitoring individuals.
m) It is hoped that stem cell research will eventually lead to a cure for Parkinsons disease.

Sources used:
Headway Advanced, (1989) OUP; McCarter, (1997) A Book on Writing; Jenkins, (1986) Writing; Truss, (2003)
Eats Shoots and Leaves; Brieger and Sweeney, (1994) Grammar for Business English, UK: Prentice Hall.
University of Hertfordshire, Using English for Academic Purposes www.uefap.co.uk
Follow-up
For more advice and exercises on punctuation see the University of Hertfordshires Web site, Using
English for Academic Purposes at:

http://www.uefap.co.uk/writing/punc/puncfram.htm

Or, the University of Sussexs guide to punctuation at:

http://www.sussex.ac.uk/langc/skills/punc.html

Test Passages. Decide whether these are punctuated correctly. If not, correct them.

Exercise 1.
a) Mr Jones telephoned early and left you the following message please ring after 4pm today.
b) My partner whos in publishing is going to a book fair.
c) I was at university in the early 1970s in 76 I went abroad.
d) The children are Ted the oldest Robin the middle child and Michael the youngest.
e) Advertising is the collective term for public announcements designed to promote the sale of specific
commodities or services.
f) Schooldays so we are told are the happiest days of our lives.
g) We had a good end of term party.
h) Michel said the teacher is a very fast reader.
i) He wanted to get home early because it was snowing rather heavily that evening.

Here are some well-known anecdotes. Punctuate them as you think appropriate.

Test Passage 1.
Groucho Marx.
He once received a letter from his bank manager who had written to remind him of an overdraft the
letter ended with the standard phrase if I can be of any service to you do not hesitate to call on me Marx
immediately put pen to paper dear sir he wrote the best thing you can do to be of service to me is to
steal some money from the account of one of your richer clients and credit it to mine.

Test Passage 2.
George Bernard Shaw
A certain Mrs Smythe who was notorious for courting celebrities sent Shaw an invitation reading Lady
Smythe will be at home on tuesday between four and six oclock Shaw returned the card with the
following annotation Mr Bernard Shaw likewise

Test Passage 3.
Sir Winston Churchill
A female MP once rebuked Churchill for being intoxicated at a dinner party sir she said you are drunk
and you madam are ugly Churchill retorted but I shall be sober tomorrow.

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Notes and Answers

2. Commas affect meaning in the following pairs of sentences.

a) My brother who lives in Scotland is getting married.

b) My brother, who lives in Scotland, is getting married.
a) suggests that I have several brothers, one of whom lives in Scotland and is getting married. b)
suggests that I have only one brother.

c) Blair, said Brown, was a fool.

d) Blair said Brown was a fool.
In c) Brown is speaking about Blair. In d) Blair is speaking about Brown.

e) What is this thing called love?

f) What is this thing called, love?
e) is the title of a song. It suggests a rhetorical question on the mystery of love. f) suggests
someone is asking about the name of an object, and is using love as a term of endearment. We
use commas to set off names of people.

g) She has accepted the job which will allow her to live in London.
h) She has accepted the job, which will allow her to live in London.
g suggests she has been offered more than one job, but has accepted the job which means
moving to London. h) suggests there was only one job offer.

3. Common mistakes with commas.

X The second exercise which was more difficult took half an hour.
Corrected sentence (two commas needed to set off the parenthetical, extra information):
The second exercise, which was more difficult, took half an hour.

X Tell me immediately, if you need me for anything.

Corrected sentence (no comma):
Tell me immediately if you need me for anything.

X The driver managed to escape from the vehicle before it sank and swam to the river bank.
Corrected sentence: The driver managed to escape from the vehicle before it sank, and swam to the
river bank. NB without a comma after sank, the sentence suggests that vehicles can swim!

X People, who live in glass houses, shouldnt throw stones.

Corrected sentence (no commas):
People who live in glass houses shouldnt throw stones.

X It also looks at the territorial obstacles, which concern Jerusalem and the settlements.
Corrected sentence (no comma):
It also looks at the territorial obstacles which concern Jerusalem and the settlements.

4. Colons have two main functions.

n) To introduce a formal statement or question

(a) The problem was this: how to add taped dialogue to film sequences and synchronise them in
projection.

ii) To introduce a series or list of examples, where the colon substitutes for namely or for
example.
b) A first-aid kit should contain the following items: cotton wool, sticking plasters, antiseptic
cream, bandages, and a pair of scissors.

c) The government can do one of three things: raise taxes; increase borrowing; or just do nothing
and let events take their course.

d) The chief commodities are: butter, cheese, milk, eggs; lamb, beef, veal, pork; oats, barley, rye
and wheat.

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Note that in examples c) and d) a semi-colon is used in the lists to mark off categories or groups of
items.

5. Semi-colons

The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there.

Some people work better in the morning; others work better in the evening.
Its a good idea in theory; lets hope it works in practice.
People say that travel broadens the mind; it can also be a frustrating and dangerous experience.
The sciences search for change; the humanities reflect on what it is.

7. Capital letters should be used with the following:

Days of the week (Tuesday, Sunday)

Months of the year (January, September)
Proper names and titles (Baroness Thatcher, Boy George)
Nationalities and languages (German, English)
Proper names of places (Freetown, Ruislip)
Names of rivers (The Thames, The Amazon)
Names of mountain ranges (The Himalayas, The Alps)
Names of historical periods (The Renaissance, The Cold War)
Names of festivals (Easter, Diwali, Ramadan)
Titles of plays, books, etc (The Merry Wives of Windsor)
Legislation (The Protection of Children Act, 1955).
Names of organisations (The Trades Union Congress)
Formal salutations in letters (Dear Sir/ Madam, Yours sincerely)

11. Apostrophes can be used in the following:

a) Oxfams work
d) The bodys immune system

b), c) and e) cannot be used with an apostrophe

b) The prices of all new products

c) The development of a new distribution network
e) The outcome of the election

Correct the following where necessary.

f) X In a few years time we may find...

Corrected: In a few years time

g) X Each application has its own advantages and disadvantages.

Corrected: Each application has its own advantages and disadvantages

h) We missed last weeks programme. Correct

i) X A persons right to security is guaranteed.

Corrected: A persons right to security is guaranteed.

j) X The applications security is broken...

Corrected: The security of the application is broken...

k) X Security is very important, especially for large corporations.

Corrected: Security is very important, especially for large corporations

l) X Electronic tagging has created a means of monitoring individuals.

Corrected: Electronic tagging has created a means of monitoring individuals.

m) It is hoped that stem cell research will eventually lead to a cure for Parkinsons disease. Correct

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Answers to Test Passages.

Exercise 1.
a) Mr Jones telephoned early and left you the following message: please ring after 4pm today.
b) My partner, whos in publishing, is going to a book fair.
c) I was at university in the early 1970s. In 76 I went abroad.
d) The children are Ted, the oldest; Robin, the middle child; and Michael, the youngest.
e) correct
f) Schooldays (so we are told) are the happiest days of our lives.
g) We had a good end-of-term party.
h) Michel said the teacher is a very fast reader.
i) He wanted to get home early, because it was snowing rather heavily that evening.

Test Passage 1.
Groucho Marx.
He once received a letter from his bank manager who had written to remind him of an overdraft. The
letter ended with the standard phrase, If I can be of any service to you do not hesitate to call on me.
Marx immediately put pen to paper. Dear Sir, he wrote, The best thing you can do to be of service to
me is to steal some money from the account of one of your richer clients and credit it to mine.

Test Passage 2.
George Bernard Shaw
A certain Mrs Smythe who was notorious for courting celebrities sent Shaw an invitation reading, Lady
Smythe will be at home on Tuesday between four and six oclock. Shaw returned the card with the
following annotation, Mr Bernard Shaw, likewise.

Test Passage 3.
Sir Winston Churchill
A female MP once rebuked Churchill for being intoxicated at a dinner party. Sir, she said, You are
drunk! And you, madam, are ugly. Churchill retorted, But I shall be sober tomorrow.